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News Briefs December 9, 2013

Army seeks Fort Irwin ties to Afghan murder

Army investigators are asking for the public’s help in Southern California to solve the 2009 murder of a soldier in Afghanistan.

The Victorville Daily Press reports Dec. 6 that authorities believe someone in the Fort Irwin area may have details about the murder of 31-year-old Sgt. Anton Phillips, who was assigned to a Germany-based maintenance company. Phillips was found stabbed to death at a base in Mehtar Lam, Afghanistan, a farming area east of Kabul, in December 2009.

Phillips, a California native, was an 11-year veteran and had previously served in Iraq. He was assigned to the 5th Maintenance Company, 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment.

A $25,000 reward is being offered to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect. AP

U.K. marine gets minimum 10 years for Afghan murder

A Royal Marine convicted of murdering a wounded Taliban insurgent has been sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison.

A military judge told Sgt. Alexander Blackman Dec. 6, you have betrayed your corps and all British service personnel who have served in Afghanistan.î

Two other marines were acquitted of the September 2011 killing in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province. They were charged after military authorities found footage of the incident on a helmet camera belonging to one of the men.

Blackman was recorded shooting the seriously wounded Afghan in the chest at close range with a pistol before quoting a phrase from Shakespeare ñ Shuffle off this mortal coil.:

The three marines were tried anonymously but a judge ruled Dec. t that Blackman could be identified. AP

Arizona dedicates World War II memorial

A World War II memorial has been dedicated in Phoenix.

More than 2,000 motorcyclists and military veterans were on hand Dec. 7 at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza for a dedication ceremony.

The memorial features massive gun barrels from two U.S. battleships – the USS Arizona and the USS Missouri.

Names of Arizona military personnel who died during the war will be displayed on a steel structure between the gun barrels. It has taken a year to build the memorial.

The dedication ceremony caps a three-year effort to have a WWII memorial located near the state capitol. AP

Local military discounts

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Raytheon has delivered a second Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite instrument to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Joint Polar Satellite System mission. The second VIIRS unit will fly ab...

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